Editing Crisis on Infinite Earths (section)

===Background===
[[DC Comics]] is an [[American comic book]] [[Publishing|publisher]] best known for its [[Superhero fiction|superhero stories]] featuring characters including [[Batman]], [[Superman]], and [[Wonder Woman]].<ref name="ignbestcharacters">{{cite web|last1=Schedeen|first1=Jesse|title=The Top 25 Best Heroes of DC Comics|url=http://www.ign.com/articles/the-top-25-heroes-of-dc-comics|website=[[IGN]]|publisher=[[Ziff Davis]]|access-date=18 March 2018|date=November 19, 2013}}</ref> The company debuted in February 1935 with ''[[More Fun Comics|New Fun: The Big Comic Magazine]]''.<ref name="monitoringthepast">{{cite web|last1=Friedenthal|first1=Andrew J.|title=Monitoring the Past: DC Comics' Crisis on Infinite Earths and the Narrativization of Comic Book History|url=http://www.english.ufl.edu/imagetext/archives/v6_2/friedenthal/|website=ImageTexT|access-date=18 March 2018|date=2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180315212451/http://www.english.ufl.edu/imagetext/archives/v6_2/friedenthal/|archive-date=15 March 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> Most of DC's comic books (as well as some published under its imprints [[Vertigo Comics|Vertigo]]<ref name="ignvertigo">{{cite web|last1=Schedeen|first1=Jesse|title=Between the Panels: DC Needs to Take Vertigo Back to its Roots|url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2016/04/22/between-the-panels-dc-needs-to-take-vertigo-back-to-its-roots|website=[[IGN]]|publisher=[[Ziff Davis]]|access-date=23 March 2018|date=April 22, 2016}}</ref> and [[Young Animal (DC Comics)|Young Animal]]<ref name="cbryounganimal">{{cite web|last1=Cohen|first1=Jason|title=DC's Young Animal Imprint Gets Major Revamp in March|url=https://www.cbr.com/dc-young-animal-relaunch/|website=[[Comic Book Resources]]|access-date=23 March 2018|date=December 14, 2017}}</ref>) take place within a [[shared universe]] called the [[DC Universe]] (DCU) allowing plot elements, characters, and settings to [[Crossover (fiction)|cross over]] with each other.<ref name="cbrrebirth">{{cite web|last1=Ching|first1=Albert|title=EXCLUSIVE: Geoff Johns Details "Rebirth" Plan, Seeks to Restore Legacy to DC Universe|url=https://www.cbr.com/exclusive-geoff-johns-details-rebirth-plan-seeks-to-restore-legacy-to-dc-universe/|website=[[Comic Book Resources]]|access-date=23 March 2018|date=February 18, 2016}}</ref> The concept of the DCU has provided DC's writers some challenges in maintaining [[Continuity (fiction)|continuity]], due to conflicting events within different comics that need to reflect the shared nature of the universe.<ref name="monitoringthepast"/> "[[Flash of Two Worlds]]" from ''[[The Flash (comic book)|The Flash]]'' #123 (September 1961), which featured [[Barry Allen]] (the [[Silver Age of Comic Books|Silver Age]] [[Flash (DC Comics character)|Flash]]) teaming up with [[Flash (Jay Garrick)|Jay Garrick]] (the [[Golden Age of Comic Books|Golden Age]] Flash) was the first DC comic to suggest that the DCU was a part of a [[DC Multiverse|multiverse]].<ref name="denofgeekflash">{{cite web|last1=Cecchini|first1=Mike|title=The Flash, Crisis on Infinite Earths, and What it Means for DC Superhero TV and Movies|url=http://www.denofgeek.com/us/books-comics/the-flash/239939/the-flash-crisis-on-infinite-earths-and-what-it-means-for-dc-superhero-tv-and-movies|website=[[Den of Geek]]|access-date=20 March 2018|date=December 10, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180324041815/http://www.denofgeek.com/us/books-comics/the-flash/239939/the-flash-crisis-on-infinite-earths-and-what-it-means-for-dc-superhero-tv-and-movies|archive-date=24 March 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="15brutal">{{cite web|last1=Cohen|first1=Jason|title=Killer Crises: The 15 Most BRUTAL Deaths In Every DC Crisis|url=https://www.cbr.com/killer-crises-the-15-most-brutal-deaths-in-every-dc-crisis/|website=[[Comic Book Resources]]|access-date=19 March 2018|date=June 22, 2017}}</ref>

The DC Multiverse concept was expanded in later years with the DCU having infinite Earths; for example, the Golden Age versions of DC heroes resided on Earth-Two, while DC's Silver Age heroes were from Earth-One.<ref name="visual"/> Since "Crisis on Earth-One!" (1963), DC has used the word "Crisis" to describe important crossovers within the DC Multiverse.<ref name="downey20180118">{{Cite web |url=https://www.cbr.com/tim-king-dc-crisis-theory/ |title=Tom King May Be Working on DC's First Post-Rebirth Crisis |last=Downey |first=Meg |date=January 18, 2018 |website=[[Comic Book Resources]] |language=en-US |access-date=March 10, 2018}}</ref> Over the years, various writers took liberties creating additional parallel Earths as plot devices and to house characters DC had acquired from other companies, making the DC Multiverse a "convoluted mess".<ref name="visual"/> DC's comic book sales were also far below those of their competitor [[Marvel Comics]].<ref name="nerd">{{cite book|last1=Weldon|first1=Glen|title=The Caped Crusade: Batman and the Rise of Nerd Culture|date=2016|publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]]|isbn=978-1-4767-5669-1}}</ref> According to ''[[ComicsAlliance]]'' journalist Chris Sims, "the [DC] multiverse . . . felt old-fashioned. . . . Marvel, on the other hand, felt contemporary and when you stack them up against each other, there's one difference that sticks out above anything else: Marvel feels unified."<ref name="ca208">{{cite web|last1=Sims|first1=Chris|title=Ask Chris #208: Crisis on Infinite Earths is Basically a Mess|url=http://comicsalliance.com/ask-chris-208-crisis-infinite-earth/|website=[[ComicsAlliance]]|access-date=20 March 2018|date=August 22, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612232653/http://comicsalliance.com/ask-chris-208-crisis-infinite-earth/|archive-date=12 June 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Writer [[Marv Wolfman]] became popular among DC's readers for his work on ''[[Weird War Tales]]'' and ''[[The New Teen Titans]]''.<ref name="visual"/> [[George Pérez]], who illustrated ''The New Teen Titans'', also began to rise to prominence in this era.<ref name="STP">{{cite web |url=https://surrealtimepress.com/2015/03/27/five-things-to-keep-in-mind-while-you-read-infinity-gauntlet-part-3/ |title=Five Things To Keep In Mind While You Read Infinity Gauntlet – Part 3 |last=Mitchell |first=B |date=March 25, 2015 |website=Surreal Time Press |access-date=January 11, 2018 }}{{Dead link|date=July 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> In 1984, Pérez entered into an exclusive contract with DC, which was later extended one year.<ref name="CI94">{{cite magazine |last=O'Neill |first=Patrick Daniel |date=1991|title=George Perez |magazine=[[Comics Interview]] #94 |location=New York City|page=4 |publisher=Fictioneer Books |author-link=David Anthony Kraft}}</ref> Although ''The New Teen Titans'' was a major success for DC,<ref name="visual"/> the company's comic book sales were still below Marvel's.<ref name="nerd"/> Wolfman began to attribute this to the DC Multiverse, feeling "The Flash of Two Worlds" had created a "nightmare":<ref name="monitoringthepast"/> it was not reader-friendly for new readers to be able to keep track of<ref name="intempol"/> and writers struggled with the continuity errors it caused.<ref name="monitoringthepast"/> In ''The New Teen Titans'' #21 (July 1982), Wolfman introduced a new character: the shadowy, potentially villainous [[Monitor (Mar Novu)|Monitor]]; this laid the foundation for ''Crisis on Infinite Earths''.<ref name="auto"/>